The Clock Tower Records
by BERSER-CAR
Summary: What kind of experiments go on behind the doors of the Clock Tower? What does it truly mean to walk the line between life and death? Inside the Clock Tower, there is a room that holds records on all experiments that happen under its careful eye. It is here that the truth behind mystery is laid bare.
1. Chapter 1

Clock Tower records: experiment #23965

Project title: DEEP DARK

Experimentation goal: creation of alien concepts

Hypothesis: "By creating an aberration so far removed from Ayala's or Gaia's purviews that it would be described as 'alien', we hope to 'corrupt' Gaia's system and access the root through the backdoor created by the corruption." - Excerpt from the logs of Wesker Rinecoft, head of the department of spatial manipulation 1679-1707.

Experiment start: August 20th, 1690

Experiment end: August 20th, 1890

Status: completed

End result: Failure

Total funding lost: 94,045,432 pounds (accounting for inflation from the start of the experiment in comparison to the currency standard of [1989].)

Main objective: access the root: failure

Side objective: create an aberration that could corrupt a path to the root: success

Side objective: creation of concepts: partial success

Side objective: removal of concepts: partial success

Further experimentation on this subject is banned by the mages association. Anyone caught attempting to replicate this experiment will be given a sealing designation, stripped of their research and magical crest, and summarily executed.

* * *

The following is a partial excerpt from a conversation recorded by a familiar between the head of the department of spatial manipulation Karen Von Schwartz and [redacted] on October 5th, 1951.

Karen: The Deep Dark project? Why do you wish to know about that?

[redacted]: (this part has been covered in black ink)

Karen: ah, I see... I suppose it would help with your research, wouldn't it? I suppose I could tell you about it. What do you wish to know?

[redacted]: Wow. I thought that would be harder. Can you start from the beginning?

Karen: Ha! You would think so, wouldn't you? But I know what you're researching, and anything that helps you helps me as per our agreement, right? And it's not like you would be able to replicate it... it took an entire island and two families working in tandem to even get it started... (The following has been inked over) So, the beginning right? Alright, let me think... It's been a while since my father told me about it...

[redacted]: You don't have the notes?

Karen: *sigh* Nope. Those are still being looked over by the association. It was 200 years' worth of notes, after all, even if it did end over 50 years ago. What, you thought I had a copy?

[redacted]: eh, well...

Karen: Well I don't. But I can give you the gist of it.

[redacted]: I'm still surprised you even decided to tell me...

Karen: (the following has been covered in ink)

[redacted]: stop embarrassing me!

Karen: hehe... So, where do I begin... I suppose I'll start with the parties involved. You know who the Rinecofts and the Stalfelts were, correct?

[redacted]: Eh, the Rinecofts were experts in spatial expansion while Stalfelts were researching origins and concepts right?

Karen: close enough. The Rinecofts were hoping to expand and contract space to 'thin' it and get to the root that way while Stalfelts had the trait 'D-god', which let them compile origins and concepts to make new ones. They hoped that once you combined enough of them, the root would open itself up.

[redacted]: right, right...

Karen: So, more than 200 years ago, the two heads of the family got together and got really piss ass drunk, at least from what my father told me, and said that in their drunken stupor they had managed to come up with a rather ridiculous idea.

[redacted]: they got... Drunk?

Karen: yeah, I know, right? Trying to imagine two prim proper heads getting drunk is pretty hard, but hey, it happens. Anyway, as I was saying they got really drunk and had this idea. What if you took away every concept there was and exposed a person to a concept-less existence?

[redacted]: That sounds... Horrifying.

Karen: That's just how magus live, kiddo. I know you're still kind of new to this, but this experiment is actually pretty tame. I mean, when you have things like the project YUKARI (For more information, see CTR: experiment #987754) and TATARI (For more information, see CTR: magecraft #56778), this one is pretty tame.

[redacted]: I suppose...

Karen: As I was saying, they had an idea and decided to try to put it to the test. Using some bounded fields and their brand of magecraft, they expanded the area of a building on an island off the coast of North America on top of a leyline, well off from anyone else. Then, they had the Stalfelts go in and use D-god combined with some of their magecraft to remove concepts and ideas from objects within that space.

[redacted]: but I thought their magecraft put things together?

Karen: Well, the specifics are kind of complicated, but I suppose I could give a simplified example. Let's say we had a bucket of water and a fire going on a fireplace. The Stalfelts would use 'D-god' to take the concept of 'fire' and the concept of 'water' and make 'steam'. Normally, you would still have the two regents used because they're concepts, but the Stalfelts had managed to manipulate it so that it would actually take those concepts and absorb them into their final result, at the cost of a massive amount of prana.

[redacted]: I see...

Karen: So they set up a bounded field, made a pocket dimension outside Gaia's influence and slowly over the course of a hundred years removed the concepts of things inside until they had removed everything they could think of. Due to how space was stretched, however, while it took 100 years outside, it was more along the lines of 500 years inside.

[redacted]: so, they were left with a room of... Nothing?

Karen: nope. Not nothing. They removed the concept of 'nothing' from the room. The space just... Was, really. It wasn't even a space, considering they removed the concept of space from it. And time. I could go more into it, but that would take a months worth of lectures about how time still passes despite here being no concept of time and how things can exist inside despite not having space.

[redacted]: so, what happened next?

Karen: They contacted the Einzberns.

[redacted]:... What for? I don't see how it would relate...

Karen: Well, the Einzberns were known for one other thing besides their alchemy, right? Despite having lost the third, they can still very much use part of it. It was for that reason.

[redacted]: Why? And why did they accept? I thought they were too busy with that grail thing...

Karen: Well, I don't remember the specifics, but apparently the Stalfelts had something the Einzberns wanted so they traded that for their services. As for why, well they couldn't just chuck a body in there. It would die, for one. No, they needed to anchor a soul inside. A human one.

[redacted]: what? Why?

Karen: Well for one human souls are actually the easiest to manipulate despite their complexity. After all, the needed to remove everything that made a human, human from that soul before throwing it in. Take away the concepts of sense, the concept of a body, concepts that have been engrained in you since birth. They needed a soul that thought like a human without anything that would define it as human. It's a bit complicated, and you'd need to talk to he spiritual invocation department if you want to know more about it, although I'm sure the head of that particular department is not nearly as accommodating as I am.

[redacted]: I'm still confused. Why a human soul? Why not something like a dogs or an apes?

Karen: ... Alright. Here. What am I pointing at right now?

[redacted]: a typewriter?

Karen: right. What do you think the concept of this object is?

[redacted]: ... Is this a trick question?

Karen: just answer the damn question.

[redacted]: ... Typewriter?

Karen: Right! Now, who gave it the concept of typewriter?

[redacted]: Gaia? The root?

Karen: well, yes and no. Humanity as a whole is represented as Ayala, right? And Ayala, despite constantly fighting Gaia, is still part of Gaia, right? Now, we humans made this object and gave it function, history, the whole shebang. Once someone has conceptualized something, it falls under Gaia's purview and she can judge it. The root is all knowledge that has existed and ever will exist. Gaia has access to it, thus Gaia already knows what we'll call it and labels it as such anyway, even before we call it that. It's a bit like the chicken and the egg scenario, really.

[redacted]: I think I get it... Because we think, we can create, right?

Karen: eh, good enough for your mediocre understanding. You'll learn more of the specifics later if you continue taking classes here. Anyway, the Rinecofts took their newborn and separated its body from its soul, took as many concepts away as possible, and then placed it inside.

[redacted]: A newborn?!

Karen: yes? Why wouldn't they? Newborns have yet to make solid opinions or conceptualize the world around them, so a newborn would be the ideal choice.

[redacted]: but...

Karen: listen, we're magi. We do things, sometimes inhumane things, in order to progress our research. You're going to have to get used to it. You don't have to do anything if it goes against your morals, but note that most magi don't think that way.

[redacted]: ...alright.

Karen: Good. anyway, for the next 100 years, things went pretty smoothly. Just keep the bounded field up and record their daily findings. Nothing too taxing. But then, on the 200th anniversary...

[redacted]: half the island disappeared.

Karen: yeah. That's the part everyone knows. Like a giant took a knife and cut the island in half diagonally. Only two rooms near the entrance of the complex were left, and there were no survivors. Supposedly.

[redacted]: do you know what happened?

Karen: Not too much, no. My father was among those sent over to collect what was left because he was someone who also worked on the project, but had to stay here in order to look after his department.

[redacted]: so what did he find on that island?

Karen: He told me that he landed on the island and checked the nearby cabin first. It was devoid of human life, but a copy of the logs was kept there, so that was taken by the association. What he saw further in he could only describe as 'disturbing.'

[redacted]: ...disturbing?

Karen: What have I told you about repeating things and one word questions? It's bad form. As for what he found, well, the first person he came across had made a circle of blood around him using his own blood, filled it with scribbles, bit off his own foot, make a pike out of the bones of his left arm which was still attached, and then stuck the pike in the middle of the circle and impaled himself head first on it. It got worse from there.

[redacted]: what the hell happened on that island?

Karen: …The conclusion my father came to was that everyone who had survived half the island disappearing immediately went insane and killed themselves in the most gruesome manner possible. Why they went insane? I have only the slightest idea from what I managed to pick up from his ramblings as he got on in his old age... As for why the hell half the island disappeared? The current two best theories I've found are just that Gaia rejected every part of existence that had been tainted by whatever had been created, or that counter guardians actually exist and that Ayala blasted half on it.

[redacted]: I've heard the counter guardian one, although I think the other one is the accepted one, right? (The lines following this one have been blacked out). He had some clue as to what happened?

Karen: It was only a hypothesis, but he assumed that whatever they had created was so far gone from anything that has ever existed that those that viewed it or were even in its presence long enough went insane, and would eventually kill themselves.

[redacted]: But you said earlier that there supposedly were no survivors. Are you implying there was one?

Karen: Perhaps.

[redacted]: Do you know who?

Karen: I said perhaps. I'm not too sure on that one. Occasionally when he got drunk he would talk about a woman that he made a promise to, but that could be here or there. It may or may not have had to do with it.

[redacted]: alright, so let's go with no survivors for now. What happened after?

Karen: Well, you know how it went after. All the materials were gathered, the entire island was blown off the face of the earth, the end.

[redacted]: So that's the Deep Dark project?

Karen: Yes, that's about all I know about the events. If you need any more help with (a few words are covered in ink), then you're going to have to give me specifics.

[redacted]: (The line is covered in ink)

Karen: Okay, I can see why you would want to start there first. First thing you should know is-

Excerpt end.

* * *

The following was written by Wesker Rinecoft in his journal on December 25th, 1689.

Date: December 25th, 1689

Time: 11:23 p.m.

Weather: light snow with heavy cloud coverage.

Mood: inebriated

Due to today being Christmas, I had decided to take a holiday today at the behest of my wife, Rea. I spent most of the day in my workshop, as per usual when I have time to perform maintenance on various pieces I keep in there. However, as I was checking on the hyper compressed cube, the head of the Stalfelts, William, had dropped by to see how I was doing, somehow passing thorugh all the protections to my workshop yet again. He had insisted I join him in having a drink and said I should party instead of work, but I refused. However, he had then dragged me the nearest bar and sat me down at a booth.

Seeing as William was annoying at best and a downright menace at worst, I decided to humor him by having a drink. I still had no idea why I was 'friends', if one could even call it that, with him, but he did provided good company once in a while. Even if I was mostly using his presence to acquire more research materials due both to his status as a genius and his family's standing in Clock Tower.

We drank a few pints, and eventually we began talking about various mysteries that we had been working on. Well, more along the lines of hinted at, but we knew each other well enough to know what the other was doing.

Eventually it came to the point where Stalfelt hinted at using his bloodline trait to fully remove a concept from an object. At that moment in time, I am ashamed to say I let the intoxication get to my head and clapped at his achievement.

My memory after that point is hazy and all I have is a few lines of nonsensical words written along my forearm, but we seemed to have come up with an intriguing experiment possibility while we were drunk.

I will have to think on it, as my admittedly meager grasp on reinforcement will fade soon enough and I will be back to my mentally addled state.

Hopefully something will come out of this joint venture, should we receive the clearance and the funding for the hazy idea we had formed.

* * *

The following was written by Wesker Rinecoft in his journal on June 21st, 1690.

Date: June 21st, 1690

Time: 7:20 p.m.

Weather: heavy cloud coverage with light rain

Mood: elated

We proposed the project to the director today, and although we were positive we were going to be turned down, we were instead given clearance.

I had let the surprise show on my face, I was sure of it. William, of course, nearly went and hugged the director because of his eccentricities, but I pulled him out of the room quickly after bowing and giving my thanks.

We had spent most of the year trying to put together a proper portfolio dictating what we planned on doing, what it would do, and how we were planning on doing it. We initially hadn't planned on going to the director, but we encountered a rather large snag while we were attempting to piece together what I have termed project Deep Dark.

The first and most important aspect was an isolated area where I could work. I didn't trust myself with choosing some land my family owned off in the country somewhere as the scale the magecraft I was going to perform could cause a great deal of damage should it go even slightly wrong.

The second would happen to be regents. William needed some regents which could only be acquired through the mages association, mainly Atlas, in order to work his brand of mystery.

He assures me that if he had 20 more years to research what he had found on accident one day, then perhaps he wouldn't need the reagents. But, alas, for now, we must deal with it.

If the director had turned us down, we would have simply dropped the project and continued with our independent studies. But, we had been given the funds to do so, so now we were set to start.

The director had given us an island off the coast of the colonies, so we should have ample space to work. I will have to move to the island and start preparing post haste, lest this offer be rescinded because I was deemed to be slacking.

* * *

The following was written by Bram Rinecoft in his journal on august 20th, 1790.

August 20th, 1790

Today is the 100th anniversary of the Deep Dark project. It seems like just yesterday grandfather had been telling me about the day he had come up with it.

Earlier, I was informed that the confinement zone had finally been completed. The homunculi the Stalfelts had been using had finally come out spouting gibberish, as the chamber tends to cause to those who have spent too long inside, but in the scrambled words they had said that their order had been complete before expiring. A shame really, considering how much money went in to manufacturing them with the proper rune set so they could last even half a day in there.

However, with the completion of the chamber came a moment that I had been dreading. Nine months ago, I had taken a jaunt to the colonies to find a woman for the experiment, and soon found one that could work for what my grandfather had planned. I hypnotized her and brought her to the island, where I promptly inseminated her so that I could bear a child for what was going to occur today.

As of this moment, she is undergoing a cesarean section so that the child's soul may be taken and placed within the zone.

Later, she will be killed and thrown out to sea. Hopefully the blood will attract enough predators that little to no evidence will remain.

The Einzbern arrived yesterday and had begun to get impatient, so I hope our business will conclude soon so that we may continue on our separate ways.

Today will be the start of something great, I am sure.

* * *

The following was written by Mary Stalfelt in her journal on January 1st, 1880.

Today's date is January 1st, 1880.

Today has been an absolute nightmare.

Hilda had decided today of all days to go to Rhode Island because she wanted to get off this stupid island for once and actual experience the world. I don't understand what is wrong with the girl. We may be twins, but we were absolutely nothing alike, despite our shared appearances. Not that she could tell, considering she's blind and all.

Why would you even want to leave the island? All that is out there are boring normal people living their normal boring lives in boring normal towns. Here? Here is where boats bring you as many books as you could possibly want, here is where you always have a roof over your head, here is where there are nice interesting experiments going on, and here is where men can't break your heart into tiny little itsy bitsy pieces like a smashed beer bottle because they thought you were too bookish.

Well they can go screw their mothers if they think I'm too bookish!

Well, anyway, I decided to indulge her and we spent some time just wandering round.

And then I lose her.

It took me a few hours to find her again, but by that point she had been chatting with some guy in a bar who would probably take advantage of the fact she was blind and screw her over both literally and figuratively, so I punched him a few times and rushed out of there with her.

And then, then! I come back to see the usual junk on the papers that monitor the DD project had suddenly turned blank. It had just stopped. There wasn't any more information being given at all.

I had double checked the bounded fields and asked the head what was going on, but everything seemed to be in working order. We simply couldn't find what the hell went wrong.

We hypothesized that maybe whatever was in there had gotten so alien that whatever was in there couldn't even be recognized as a soul anymore. Or perhaps the soul just died, which could also be something. In that case, the experiment was a monumental failure and we refused to acknowledge that it had failed so badly after this family had spent so long on it.

And then I learned we were out of watermelons.

Life wasn't worth living anymore.

* * *

The following log was created by the automated feedback thaumaturgical instrument on august 20th, 3:00 a.m.

(Blank line)

(Blank line)

(Blank line)

(Blank line)

(Blank line)

Internal compression field has been breached.

Internal expansion field has been breached.

External compression field 1 has fallen.

External compression field 2 has fallen.

Bounded field one has fallen.

Bounded field 2 has fallen,

Bounded fields 3-9 have fallen simultaneously.

Feedback bounded field has fallen.

(Blank line)

(blank line)

(blank line)

Eeeeeee2343333 edasdaxsa fevtys aaeaaaaaaaaaa57898765432)*&amp;%*^%)%$%%^^*&amp;_-.

* * *

The following was written by Mary Stalfelt in her journal on August 20th, 1890 at 2:30 a.m.

Today's date is August 20th, 1890

Damn, it's late. Or should I say early? It's around 2:30 right about now.

I've been able to stay up purely do to the power of stress and coffee. Stress because it's the 200th anniversary of the project and because Hilda might be ready to give birth any hour now.

I still can't believe she was stupid enough to let that guy she met so long ago woo her. She's a Stalfelt, damn it, she should have better standards!

… Not like our family really gives a damn. Gino is already guaranteed family head and I got lucky because my ability to use D-god was stronger in me than with him. Hilda was unlucky because she could barely use any magecraft at all because her circuits were pitiful and was born blind. She could basically be thrown away.

She would have been sold off to another family had I not stepped in and volunteered to look after her.

And then what does she do? The fool runs off and gets herself pregnant.

Really, the only thing I could do was just bear with it. She was my responsibility after all, and by failing to keep her in line, the only person I could blame was myself.

Perhaps if the child manages to show some talent, I could take him in. While I may have proven the most talented amongst all my siblings, I had proven unable to bear a child.

Not that I had ever wanted any.

… I'll check on the zone one last time before going off to bed. Perhaps something will happen that will pull at my interests.

* * *

The following is a visual record taken from the optical nerve of a familiar.

(The image shows a blank hallway.)

(The image zooms down the hall, only to stop and concentrates at something that looks strange)

(At the end of the hall, the normally white walls seemed to change color. No, that wasn't correct. It was like the color was warping into something that simply didn't have color. Something that, perhaps in a dimension far flung from this dimension could be considered a color under warped thoughts, but couldn't possibly be thought of as a color by any being in this dimension)

(Then it stops warping all together and simply… stops holding the concept of color. It is not black, or white, or red, or any sort of color. It is simply a wall with no color what so ever.)

(Then the wall starts to warp, bending and twisting in odd and mind boggling ways, to the point where calling it a wall would cause many to question one's sanity.)

(The wall simply stops existing. As if it had never been there. And on the other side-)

The image cuts here, as the familiar was confirmed to have had a seizure and died after having its head explode.

* * *

The following is an excerpt from Luthor Von Schwartz's journal, written on August 20th, 1933.

Aug. 21 1937.

It's been a long time since that day.

I've never written anything about that day down, due to fear of being discovered, but my time in this world is soon to run out, just as his ran out not too many months ago.

I suppose I should leave some record of what happened that day other than through my own daughter.

I had been asked by Clock Tower to go to Tririte Island to investigate a disturbance along with a team of other researchers and two enforcers. At the time I had no idea what had happened, but they had contacted me at three in the morning and I was asked 'nicely' by the director to go, so I did.

I had been staying at a nice house in Rhode Island to conduct some experiments regarding spatial awareness, so I had been the first to arrive, being there in less than an hour compared to the rest who arrived a day later.

Even before I had arrived, I knew something was amiss. As I approached this island, I noticed the usual jutting mountain face wasn't there, instead replaced by a smooth incline upward. Unfortunately, I couldn't dock there, so I took my boat around to the back where the port was and entered the cabin at the entrance, knowing that was where they stored the automated copies of all the official documents they made.

I briefly looked through the logs to see what I could understand about the situation, but the only accurate log I could receive was a containment breach inside the containment zone. The rest were strings of seemingly random numbers and letters, along with requests for help.

I had been addled by what I had read and placed them back where I found them, instead decided to venture toward the complex to see what I could find.

The first thing I saw nearly caused me to vomit.

A body had been impaled on a spike upside-down and had a strange circle of blood around it, with writing inside in a language I had never seen before.

And that was only the first of many as I progressed closer and closer to the building. A woman who had eaten another until her stomach had ruptured, a man who had hung himself from his own intestines after making a pit under him filled with spikes made from practically every bone you could feasibly remove from your body, a woman who had cut off all her limbs and then burnt herself alive on a makeshift crucifix using the limbs as fuel and her own teeth to nail herself to the cross.

And every single one had the same demented smile on their face. The exact same.

Eventually, I came across the building where the experiment had begun. Or, what was left of it.

It looked as though a giant had taken a knife and had cut away nearly all of the building, starting from the first edge going all the way to the shore line, which basically meant that the entire building except for the opening hall and the room right next to it had disappeared.

I had entered the last room preparing myself for what I would see, but what I had found was something completely unexpected.

In the glow of the dawn light was a woman, a very pretty one at that, cutting off the skin on her forearm, humming a song horribly out of tune.

I had carefully moved in the take a closer look because she was facing away from me, but she seemed to be in a world of her own, flaying of her own skin as though she were peeling potatoes instead of herself. Eventually I managed to get around her and saw exactly what was going on.

She had gouged out her eyes, leaving her face with a void in place of her ability to see. She had also cut off her nose and her ears, from what the blood trails had told me. She had been flaying herself using a knife, although from where she got it, I do not know.

How she had not passed out from blood loss, I do not know.

However, that was not the most disturbing part of the scene. No, what was possibly the most disturbing was the baby in her lap that had been draped in her own skin.

"Oh, hello. Are you mister red knight?"

She had looked up in my direction and had spoken those words so softly I had almost not heard them. However I had been on guard at that time so my hearing had picked it up and engrained itself in my memory, attaching it to the face of a woman without eyes or a nose.

"No, you're not him. I'm sorry."

She had then gone back to mutilating herself and humming that unsettling tune of hers.

I had kept my bearings, however, and decided to ask some questions.

"Do… do you know what happened here?" I had asked.

She had continued to hum.

"Hello?" I waved a hand in front of her face. She didn't respond. "What happened here?"

Still she didn't respond.

At that point I realized that she didn't have any ears anymore and thus could not hear me, so asking was pointless.

And I still had so many questions, such as who that red knight was.

I didn't know I had vocalized that question, however.

"Oh, you wish to know about the red knight? I'll tell you, I'll tell you!" She spoke in such a hushed tone that I had nearly missed it. "He came after it disappeared and told me to be strong for him, and then he gave me this wonderful knife! He was so handsome and exotic looking too, and his eyes, his eyes! Haaa…."

I remembered being surprised that she could hear me. How could she? Her ears had been removed entirely…

I decided to use this to my advantage however, seeing as she would only talk if it related to the red knight.

"Tell me, what happened before the red knight showed up?"

She had taken the knife and started stabbing her hand slowly at that point. "Hmmm…. Ah, I had been in here, in so much pain… So much… and then it came. I didn't know what it was because I couldn't see it, but I could feel it. But the pain was gone, so that was good. And then it was gone. Or was it gone before the pain? I don't remember, but it was gone. I thought I heard a voice too, along with a door opening, but I don't know if I really did. Did I mention the pain? Oh! And then the red knight showed up, and he swung and he made such a pretty light show! It was like watching fireworks, except with the building! And sister! And he was so handsome, and his eyes, his eyes…."

She repeated 'his eyes' over and over and over again. It went on like that for some time, before finally she stopped and started to stab herself again.

The child in her lap whimpered slightly and the woman cooed at it, blood dripping from her skinless hands onto its face.

"That baby…" I whispered.

And then something changed in her demeanor. She had frowned for a split second, before smiling again, just like all the others that I had seen outside.

"You… can you promise me something?"

I nodded, slightly dumbfounded.

"Take care of him, would you? I can't anymore… Not anymore…" She tossed the bundle toward me and I quickly caught it in time to see her stab her own throat with the knife in her hands.

"I love you…"

And those were the words of the mother of the last survivor of the island.

Afterword I had quickly taken my boat back to Rhode Island, bundle in hand. I knew I couldn't let the mage's association get the bundle or else that would attempt to dissect it in hopes they could learn something. I couldn't let that happen.

I quickly found a couple and hypnotized them into thinking the baby was theirs and then left. I couldn't stay in Rhode Island any longer or else the others Clock Tower would send would wonder why someone who was closer hadn't arrived there first.

Later, after all was collected, they blew up the rest of the island, burying it forever.

For the past 47 years I've lived with this secret. The boy grew up, lived a normal life, became an author, and died this year.

I wonder how things would be different had I raised him? Perhaps he would have a reality marble? His constant nightmares certainly pointed in that direction… He would have made a good magus too, considering how many excellent quality circuits he had.

Alas, secrets have to be kept secret, and promises must be acknowledged. The only way I could possibly take care of him was by leaving him with other individuals. Even if his distortion caused them to go insane in the end…

But, what's done is done. My life is at an end. And my final secret is laid bare.

I wonder where you go when you die?

They certainly seemed happy enough to die that day…

* * *

Conclusions:

It is hypothesized that in that room Gaia and Ayala both attempted to remove the creature. Gaia succeeded, although it is assumed it took so long to remove due to the sheer alien nature of the creature, with the only way to get a grasp on the creature was by opening the root in order to destroy it. It is hypothesized Ayala used her counter guardians to remove the taint the creature left completely, as indicated by the sanity of the magi there and the distortion noted by the familiar.

The survivor is noted to possibly have a reality marble by Luthor Von Schwartz, and was later confirmed in a dissection done upon his corpse. This may have been due to him inheriting D-god and experiencing the creature while still in in the womb, by taking the concept and integrating it partially into himself.

The creature noted was highly dangerous, although it is highly unlikely that a similar outcome will occur due to the efforts of the lone survivor. He was effected in by the creature in such a way that he could grasp the concept it represented and transfer that concept into something that humanity could grasp. He further ensured a repeat would not happen by writing the 'shape' of the concept and presenting it to an audience, thus making it so that any further recreations will be instantly crushed by Gaia.

Concepts beyond the scope of Gaia can be created, but it has proven too dangerous and too costly to produce. The bodies and research notes prove invaluable, however.

Especially the body of the survivor. His body alone nearly makes the entire experiment worthwhile.

Howard Philips Lovecraft has and will provide research material for years to come.

End record

* * *

This idea has bothered me for some time. I thought I would write it out for you guys. Not that anyone will read it.


	2. Chapter 2

Clock Tower Records: Query #3567

Query Title: Atlas on the Nature of True Magic

Atlas Academy, located in the mountains of Egypt, is part of the Mage's association, specializing in alchemy. The first head of Atlas was said to have predicted the end of the earth using a completed mathematical model based on the idea of Laplace's Demon, the idea that if every atom in the universe were to be catalogued with their vectors and their location, then it would be possible to predict the future using classical mathematics to determine the position they would take in the future.

The following was written by the director of Atlas to the Director of Clock Tower on his view on True Magic. (The original letter was burned by Bartholemoi's successor, but the archives have retained a copy.)

* * *

To: Head Director of Clock Tower, ****** Barthomeloi

From: Head Director of Atlas Academy **** ******* Atlasia

Subject: your query on True Magic

I was surprised to see a familiar of yours today here at the academy, Ms. Barthomeloi. I suppose I underestimated your fervent hatred of Dead Apostles as you are willing to write to me for help in understanding True Magics. Has the Wizard Marshall really been that much of a thorn in your side that you needed to contact me? I doubt even with my meager understanding of them you could possibly create a counter against him, but I suppose since you already offered so much, I must comply.

True Magic. Most Magi know of them as Magecraft that is beyond the scope of reason, being given to those that have reached the root. Denial of Nothingness, the Kaleidoscope, Heaven's Feel, and the Blue. Those are the known ones, with the last being lost to time.

However, these Magics are all linked, with all five being part of one Magic, but looked upon by different people at different angles.

It all goes back to choice.

I am sure you know of Lalpace's Demon, correct? The idea behind Lalpace's Demon is that once you know what atom is going where at what velocity, all future reactions will be known. However, classical mathematics and actual physics do not really line up properly, and thus we here at atlas can only predict the most likely outcome. True Magic, for example, is one aspect that ruins our calculations due to their nature and how they affect choice.

The first, known as denial of nothingness, is about creating choice. Suppose you had the first for just a moment, and suppose you used it to create but one atom by rejecting that which does not exist. You have now created choices that did not exist before, because that atom could move in any direction. With one single atom, an innumerable amount of choices emerge, and thus you have created choice. (For more information on the first, please look at CTR: Magecraft #233)

The Second should be obvious in that it is about observing those choices. The second is all about choices and what-ifs and what-can-happens, with the ability to take a path and switch between. The kaleidoscope is infinite in scope, and that is its downfall. There are only so many choices one can observe even with the ability to sort and filter, that even then there are countless universes that could occur. (For more information on the first, please look at CTR: Magecraft #17)

The third is a bit trickier to explain. The Einzbern's describe it as the materialization of the soul, but that is only part of it. No, the real power behind the third magic is expansion of choice. Everything else is simply a side effect of that. Suppose one materializes the soul using heaven's feel. At that point, they could basically be called immortal because the soul generates prana which keeps itself running, like a perpetual motion machine. However, because the soul is immaterial, it holds countless choices that it could make. Suppose everything could be defined in 1's and 0's. The first could be considered adding numbers, the second would be viewing all possible numbers, while heaven's feel can be considered something along the lines of a random number generator, spitting out 1's and 0's in a fashion that is truly random and unpredictable in any possible model. A cohort of mine has another theory that the third is not a generation of choice but instead an acceptance of choice, which the materialization of the soul being the ultimate form of making a choice, but that is neither here nor there. (For more information on the first, please look at CTR: Magecraft #5768)

The fourth… I suppose you could say the ultimate goal of atlas is to reach the fourth magic. While the others are creation of choice, all choice, and generation of choice, this one can be considered Absolute Choice. The first Director's way of using Lalpace's Demon could be considered something along the lines of a fragment of the fourth, with his ability to view the most likely scenario by taking all into account. The fourth creates an Absolute, despite what gaia or any other higher or lower being might say. If you were to tell an atom to go this way, it would. If you were to make it so that a closed system would always generate with no loss, you could. The fourth is the path to victory, being the 'perfect' choice or the 'absolute' choice, going against anything and everything. (For more information on the first, please look at CTR: Magecraft #7899)

And then there is the fifth. The Blue. Suppose you were to catalog every choice on an infinitely long length of string by making a knot in it every time you made one. I chose to breathe, I chose to walk, I choose to stand, all that sort of stuff, until you had, let's say, 100 knots. Now, let's say, for your 101st decision, you decided you wanted to travel back in time to your 50th choice.

Now here lies the divide between conventional time distortion magecraft and the blue. Let's take your average mage and send him back in time. You would take your string, bend in upon itself, and rest it back at the 50th knot you made. Note that the knots after the 50th still exist. From the 50th, you make a dscision, put a knot in it, and continue your life making knots at a 90 degree angle from your original line, stemming from the 50th knot.

Now the Blue is different. What the Blue does is it invalidates the knots. It makes it so that the knots never even existed in the first place, so you would return to the 50th knot without any knots afterword.

If you haven't picked up on it, the difference between the two is that conventional magecraft does not forget the choices you have already made, and as such being like Zelretch can view the choices made between dimensions and what different choices there were because those knots still exist.

The Blue, on the other hand, invalidates those knots, resetting time to a place where it appears that it never existed in the first place. It removes choice. (For more information on the first, please look at CTR: Magecraft #234551)

This is where the fifth differentiates from the second, as many can't seem to understand that there is a difference.

If you wish for more details, then I suggest you talk to the wizard marshall himself. I understand that he gives lectures on the second magic simply because no one can understand it other than himself, so perhaps you could join a class of his to see what his magic entails.

* * *

Summary: Atlas believes that True magic falls under the concept of Choice, with each magic performing something different with the idea of choice.

This understanding is fundamentally different from Clock Tower's understanding of such, and thus this letter was sent to the records room in order to possibly verify its claims in the future.


	3. Chapter 3

Clock Tower Records: experiment #987754

Project title: YUKARI

Experimentation goal: Breakdown of the concept "Boundary"

Hypothesis: "By breaking the concept of a boundary within a test subject, said subject may be able to reach akasha by simply believing the boundary between this plane and the plane on which akasha exists to not exist." - Excerpt from the logs of Hina Washizu, Second owner of Numazu 1930-1951.

Experiment start: January 1st, 1631

Experiment end: March 5th, 1951

Status: completed

End result: Unknown (Possible Success)

Total funding lost: None

Main objective: access the root: Unknown

Side objective: Break the concept of a boundary: Success

Further experimentation on this subject is banned by the mages association. Anyone caught attempting to replicate this experiment will be given a sealing designation, stripped of their research and magical crest, and summarily executed.

* * *

The following is a partial excerpt from a conversation recorded by a familiar between the head of the department of spatial manipulation Karen Von Schwartz and [redacted] on June 9th, 1952.

[redacted]: -and that's how far I've gotten, but I still can't get it to stabilize…

Karen: I see… perhaps if you (the following has been inked over).

[redacted]: Yeah, that might work….

Karen: Glad I could help. But remember, you owe me for this.

[redacted]: Yeah yeah, contract and geas and all that. I can't go against it.

Karen: Nice to see you still understand. (The following has been inked over). So, what did you really come here today for?

[redacted]: …What are you talking about?

Karen: You suddenly show up today after not seeing me for a month only to give a status update. Now tell me, if that was all, why didn't you just make a familiar and send a letter? I know you have the capacity to do so, so why are you here today?

[redacted]: …Fine, I give. I actually wanted to ask you about that other project you mentioned last year, when we talked about the Deep Dark Project.

Karen: … Refresh my memory. Which one?

[redacted]: It was the YUKARI project. I decided to look into it but I could only find some references to some magus doing something in Japan and that's it…

Karen: …I didn't actually think you would look into that. My bad for not taking your curiosity into account. I'm actually surprised you found anything at all, actually, considering that the project ended not too long ago and the case file for it would be buried in the records room…

[redacted]: The records room? What's that?

Karen: …You're telling me you haven't heard of the records room? How long have you been here? Two, three years? I guess I'll have to enlighten you then. There is a room here in the Clock Tower that has a record of every kind of magecraft you can think of, albeit in a rather heavily edited, bare bones kind of style. It won't tell you any of the details, but it'll give you the gist of anything you're looking for. New magi who enter the Clock Tower tend to accidentally wander in because the entire records room is technically a joke that Zelretch set up, but you can find some interesting stuff in there if you know how to go about looking for things. I occasionally go in and have a look around at the files myself, which is how I came across it in the first place. Spatial manipulation has its perks, you know?

[redacted]: Wandering in…? Wait, you mean that room?! The one that's, like, kilometers long and has a ceiling so high you can barely see it? The one where the bookshelves reach said ceiling? The one with papers just stuffed in them with no reason what so ever?

Karen: Sounds like it.

[redacted]: I was in there for a week!

Karen: A week? Wow, that's a pretty good time. I've known some that have spent months in there trying to find the way out. I spent a solid month in there myself on my first time. I think the fastest anyone new has gotten out is six hours though.

[redacted]: Alright, so if I can't find anything and I absolutely need to find something on a subject, then I should go to the records room. Got it. So, the YUKARI project?

Karen: Right, the YUKARI project… Let's start from the beginning then. Tell me everything you know about it.

[redacted]: Uh… I know that it took place in… Numazu? Yeah, Numazu, I think it was called. It was kept hidden from the mage's association and the outcome was inconclusive. That's about it.

Karen: … That's more than I had hoped, but less than I would have liked. I guess we should start with the city. Tell me, what do you know about Numazu?

[redacted]: Oh, wait, I looked this one up! It's on intersecting leylines, right? That means it's a good place to conduct large scale magecraft.

Karen: That's right. Not as good as Fuyuki, but a good place none the less. Normally, when you have a spiritually enriched area like that, what tends to happen?

[redacted]: I… believe that the Mage's Association gives control of the city to a magus family.

Karen: That's correct. Usually control is handed over to a family because the association can't be bothered to keep track of it considering it's out east, despite its appeal. In your little quest to discover what happened, did you happen to discover who in particular became the second owner of Numazu?

[redacted]: No. I actually couldn't find anything on that, which is weird considering that if you plan to set up a workshop in their city, you're supposed to contact them to let them know and get their permission…

Karen: Eh, Wouldn't have expected you to. Probably already took everything related to that family and shafted it, considering they were Japanese. Anyway, the family that had 'owned' Numazu were the Washizus. Their magecraft mainly dealt with boundaries and thus were experts on bounded fields.

[redacted]: Were they were the ones in charge of the YUKARI project? Or was it some magus under them?

Karen: It was all done by the Washizus, although by that point the family only consisted of one person, Hina Washizu. She was a bit… Crazy, from what I read in the report.

[redacted]: Crazy? How so?

Karen: As in insane even by magus standards. And not you're normal kind of insane either, because by all regards she could be considered a functional human being. It's difficult to explain, just like the entire project is difficult to explain without having an in depth knowledge on exactly what the hell was going on.

[redacted]: How so?

Karen: Hmmm… Alright, do you know what breaking a concept is?

[redacted]: breaking a concept? No…

Karen: pff… This is going to be tough to wrap your head around then. Breaking a concept… It is impossible to explain broken concepts simply because it is impossible for a human to grasp that a concept has been broken. The only way I can explain is through the concept known as a reality marble (for more information, please see CTR: magecraft #8632). You've probably come across them in your research. The reality that stems from the alien sense that demons have. One way to potentially grasp the idea of a reality marble would be to break a concept within you. You do not view a concept differently, although you do, you do not ignore a concept, although you do. It is paradoxical in nature, something so against common sense that simply being in the presence of one who has a broken concept would make you think that person was off. It is simply… broken.

[redacted]: Ah, I think I see where you're going with that. I assume it's similar to a warped concept?

Karen: Kind of. A warped concept is more of metaphorically flipping something on its head and viewing it differently. You can somewhat understand a warped concept, seeing as it is simply warped. A broken one is a step above that, bending something so far it shatters…

[redacted]: So, having one will let you manifest a reality marble?

Karen: Not necessarily. If you look more into reality marbles, which I suggest you don't because doing so will give you a sealing designation, then maybe you'll see why I say that.

[redacted]: … So she tried to break something in someone?

Karen: Yes.

[redacted]: ... How?

Karen: ah, now we get to the thick of it. When I was glancing through the file, I noticed it was pretty bare, so if I happen to glance over something then don't blame me.

[redacted]: There was stuff missing in the file?

Karen: Not missing as much as most of the stuff involving the project was probably left out of the report and kept wherever the hell they keep information they don't want getting out. That, or it was burned, considering that the entire compound that he experiment was taking place in burned to the ground.

[redacted]: ah, okay... So, you were saying?

Karen: Right. So, the project began twenty or so years ago and lasted about that long. Over the course of twenty years, Hina Washizu conducted over 500 experiments on children under the age of five, including her own daughter, in order to break the concept of a boundary. According to her notes, apparently trying to crack a safe by understanding its inner workings wasn't fast enough for her, so she decided to brute force it by simply breaking the boundary between this plane and the plane Akasha resides on.

[redacted]: 500? But that would mean that 500 people…

Karen: Yeah. She kidnapped around 500 children ranging from just being born to 5 experimented on them. There were no survivors.

[redacted]: …

Karen: I know this is difficult to take in. I told you when I took you in that being a magus isn't all that it's cracked up to be, but you went ahead and joined me anyway. Do you regret your decision?

[redacted]: (the following is covered in ink)

Karen: Good. Remember that. Anyway, as I was saying, she experimented on them. The first part of the experiment was to reset the origin of the person in question to a pre-determined one in order to ensure the least amount of variance in her variables.

[redacted]: Changing an origin?! That's... Possible?!

Karen: Yes, it's possible. It's not something that I would recommend looking into, however. The reports don't say how she did so, but I assume she used some kind of Noble Phantasm, which is actually among the easier ways to change an origin.

[redacted]: A Noble Phantasm...

Karen: Yeah. Her success rate was actually pretty high, with about one in three surviving the process, which gives credibility to the idea that she used a noble phantasm since changing an origin is tricky business. About half of the third that survived went insane, though. Not that it really mattered to Hina. In fact, from what I remember from the report, She actually hoped they would go insane, as with insanity it becomes a lot easier to twist around certain concepts within someone.

[redacted]: But you said no one survived?

Karen: Did I say that was the end? That was just the beginning. For the next part, she attempted to give them artificial circuits.

[redacted]: Artificial circuits? But isn't that-

Karen: Dangerous? Normally, yes. However, the way she did it and the previous experiment helped with making the body accept them. You see, she made an artificial circuit by inserting a series of microscopic bounded fields that would perform the same actions as circuits, but at a higher cost and lower output, along with constantly being in what she described as 'indescribable agony'. They wouldn't disappear because they would be connected to the soul as well as to a larger construct that fed them prana through the leylines. Don't ask me how she managed all that since I'm no expert on bounded fields, but that's how she did it. By changing the origin so that it matched every single time, it helped to ensure that her test subjects would survive the operation. Didn't mean they all did though, just most.

[redacted]: She… tortured children… And felt nothing?

Karen: The reports were extremely clinical in nature, so I would assume that she didn't feel anything for them. Like I have stated before, (this word has been inked out), this is the dark side of magi. Just don't cross that line and you'll do fine.

[redacted]: It's just hard to swallow, knowing that stuff like that actually happens…

Karen: yeah…

[redacted]: …What did she change their origin to?

Karen: what?

[redacted] I said what did she change the origin to?

Karen: Ah, I forgot to mention that didn't I? Well, she changed them to be 'boundary'.

[redacted]: … But, wasn't she trying to break that concept? Wouldn't it be impossible to break something that is so ingrained in your soul?

Karen: You see the issue then. Yes. In essence, the entire experiment was about them 'breaking' the concept of a boundary, and thus having them break themselves in the process.

[redacted]: Going against your origin… she really was insane, wasn't she?

Karen: That she was. Anyway, as I was saying the very first thing she did was erasing their memories and then started teaching them certain subjects. Of course, there were the basics, but where it really differed was her teachings on boundaries. For some, she taught what boundaries were and that they separated two different ideas, for others, she taught boundaries as a hypothetical subject, citing that they didn't exist. And for some others, she completely left out the idea of boundaries.

[redacted]: That's… strange. Why would she do that?

Karen: You'll see. Continuing on, every single one of her captives were kept in very small rooms, each about the size of this desk in front of us. After keeping them in there so long and teaching them, she would then attempt to convince them that the walls around them wouldn't impede them, or act as a boundary. She would walk into the room through a wall using some illusions and question why they could not. She would constantly ask them the same questions over and over. She would say they were failures and that she would get rid of them if they did not accept the truth.

[redacted]: She psychologically tortured them…

Karen: Yes. Physically as well, mind you, because of the extreme pain the artificial circuits cause. The results… Well, some killed themselves by bashing their skulls into the walls, some died from overuse of their circuits, but eventually some succeeded in actually escaping confinement. Only to walk into another room where they would be placed within a bounded field that impeded movement and asked why they could not escape.

[redacted]: wait wait wait, hold on. I'm confused. Multiple people made it through right? But according to the principles of magecraft, wouldn't each have had to make their own mystery to escape? Isn't that counterproductive in the long run considering if one of them dies, the mystery would disappear and seeing that each mystery was different, how would she know that it held the properties she was looking for? Like, as in, oh, 'ignoring boundaries' rather than 'walk through walls?'

Karen: Ah, yeah, I guess I forgot to mention that. Despite Hina's insanity, she could be considered a genius in her field of manipulating boundaries and bounded fields. She made a bounded field over the entire complex with the idea of analyzing any mystery within down to its components. It wouldn't tell you how it was realized, but it would tell you the basis behind a mystery. She used that to find out what the basis of any mystery the children came up with to escape was about. Then, when she found one with the concept that she was looking for, she simply took the false circuits and manipulated the rest to match that one.

[redacted]:… huh?

Karen: You know how when a bullet travels down the barrel of a gun, the gun leaves a mark on the bullet? Hina managed to make it so that the miniature bounded fields would 'remember' the mysteries performed, although according to the notes the process wasn't perfect, and a mystery had to be performed over and over to get it to mold properly. It follows the same concept of magic crests, really. Except instead of taking centuries, she compressed it into a few years.

[redacted]: She what?!

Karen: Yeah, I know. Although you have to understand that this wouldn't work under normal circumstances, seeing as she had to put in a lot of work just to make the circuit compatible in the first place. And don't ask me how she managed to adjust the circuits while they were still active. Since you have a magic crest, I know you know how much of a taboo it is to alter them, both because of the possible danger and because of the history related to them. She was insane, but an insane genius.

[redacted]: ever since I came to Clock Tower, magi just seem to love having new ways to surprise me, don't they?

Karen: Try to get used to it. The amount of insane magecraft in this world already boggles even my mind and I still see new ones that just make my head hurt every year, despite the previous experience I have with them.

[redacted]: right… as you were saying?

Karen: right, so she put them through a series of test to attempt to break down the concept of a boundary. She started with physical ones, like walls and bounded fields, but as time wore on she went onto more abstract concepts. You have to understand that anything on this planet that has any sort of differentiation between them has a boundary, so really anything can be considered a boundary should you think about it hard enough. Life and death. Happiness and sadenss. Sanity and insanity. She forced them to break those ideas down.

[redacted]: but… wouldn't that result in some kind of internalized version of what the Stalfelts are trying to do?

Karen: Good catch. Yes, it's basically the same thing, but you have to remember that their origin would be 'boundary'. They would attempt, in their minds, to try to remove it, but their very nature would prevent them from doing so. It's a nature versus nurture scenario, really. It would bend them, warp them, but breaking them… well, at that stage, they hadn't quite reached that stage.

[redacted]: so what you're saying is that once a person breaks the concept of a boundary, they can remove ignore their nature while retaining their nature?

Karen: I did say that breaking a concept caused one to live a paradoxical existence. After all, the results of trying to do so… some separated their soul from their body and were rejected out of existence by Gaia. Some fell apart because they broke the boundary between the idea of the individual and the whole. Some fused themselves together into one massive lump of flesh. Some went into a coma and died from lack of hydration. The list goes on and on. And soon enough, every single one of them died.

[redacted]: So the experiment was a failure then.

Karen: Not quite. I mentioned she experimented on her own daughter, correct? Apparently she had been born naturally carrying the concept of a boundary, and so she took all the research and applied them to her, with her being the very last test subject.

[redacted]: and where everyone else failed… she succeeded?

Karen: I… I do not know.

[redacted]: You don't? But then why bring it up?

Karen: because in one of the last pages she had written 'I have succeeded. She has broken.'

[redacted]: But that clearly states that she succeeded. What in the world are you talking about when you say that you don't know?

Karen: Because while breaking the idea of a boundary might have been the main goal, the objective was to break the boundary between Akasha and this plane of existence.

[redacted]: And there is no evidence as to that?

Karen: No. As I said, the overall result was inconclusive, mainly due to the fire that broke out and burned everything to the ground.

[redacted]: but there is more, isn't there? You said that that had been one of the last pages, meaning there had been more.

Karen: …I guess you caught me there. There is a certain page that had caught my attention near the end. In it, Hina describe her daughter as being able to simultaneously be able to create and remove boundaries to metaphorical concepts, having done something, it wasn't described what exactly it was, by 'blocking every path to the future except the one she wanted to travel to.' That wasn't all though. According to the very last report that Hina Washizu wrote, she claimed that her daughter had been able to break and reconstruct the concept of a boundary at will.

[redacted]: … What?!

Karen: Yeah, as if breaking a concept wasn't improbably hard to understand. Hina hypothesized it was due to a child's view on the world. Have you ever heard a child attempt to describe something he or she could not understand? They use words like 'it was, then it wasn't' and to them, that it all the explanation needed. She had talked to her daughter, and her daughter had explained it as 'it breaks, but then I want to fix it, and then I have to break it again'. To that child, it was simply as simple as that. A child's logic at work.

[redacted]: So, hypothetically, what your saying is that this girl could have made a boundary that protected her against every outcome except the one she wanted, break herself, and then use that broken concept to enter Akasha?

Karen: I knew I took you in for a reason. Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Although, as I've said, the results were inconclusive, mainly because while there is no evidence she did so, there is no evidence against it either, seeing as while everybody that could have been accounted for was found within the burning wreckage, no sign was found of the girl. None at all. As in, it was like she had never even existed in the first place.

[redacted]: There was no trace of her?

Karen; The only record of her was in the notes, nothing else.

[redacted]: do you know why?

Karen: no clue.

[redacted]: ah… So that's it then? That's the Yukari project?

Karen: Yeah. That's all I know unless you want to scour the records room for the file.

[redacted]: alright. I guess I should take my leave then.

Karen: See you later then. Don't keep me waiting so long next time.

[redacted]: Oh, right. I had wanted to ask. Why was the project called that? Project deep dark was called that because of what they had created, but I can't seem to find any reason why it would be called the Yukari project.

Karen: Oh, that. That's because that would be the her name.

[redacted]: her?

Karen: the daughter's. Yukari Washizu.

[redacted]: Oh. Well, thanks for that. See you then.

Karen: Don't be a stranger now. Bye.

Excerpt End

* * *

The rest of this file has been removed and/or deleted due to the following reasons:

New information

Editing of information

Removal of unreliable information

The above has remained as a summary of experiment #987754.

If the above states that information is to be deleted, then we are sorry for the inconvenience as the information will not return.

If the above states that information is to be edited, then please return to this file in at least one month and the information should be updated.

This notice was posted on December 2nd, 1998.

* * *

Yeah, so this is basically Part 1. Part 2 will come at a later date. I want to keep these things short, so occasionally i'll cut them in half. Next i plan on exploring the second for a bit. It'll be an excerpt instead of a partial one because record updates because the second has a huge record file.


	4. Chapter 4

Clock Tower Records: Magecraft #17

Magecraft Title: The kaleidoscope, The Second True Magic

Domain of Magecraft: Operation of Parallel Worlds.

Creator: Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg on the date of :(the following has been blacked out)

Current user(s): Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg (for more information, see CTR: Significant Persons #132)

The Second Magic, commonly known as the kaleidoscope, was obtained by Kischur Zelretch Shweinorg, also known simply as Zelretch, while Brunestud of the Crimson Moon still walked the earth (for more information, see CTR: significant Persons #13). The second is known for being obscenely powerful, with it having the capacity to defeat the Ultimate One of the moon (for more information, see CTR: Significant Events #665). The limits of the kaleidoscope are currently unknown, with Zelretch himself confirming that he had yet to explore everything the kaleidoscope could accomplish.

The domain of the Second is the Operation of Parallel Worlds. With the Second, one can freely manipulate dimensions, accessing history, memory, physical forms, energy, and thought from them. Even this description is inadequate in describing what the second can accomplish, however, as one would have to use it in its entirety to truly understand what it can do.

Due to the size of Magecraft #17's file, it was deemed necessary by the Clock Tower Records Room administrator [Zelretch] to split the file and place them in separate locations. However, due to an incident, there files were lost and became scattered throughout various other files in the Records Room. Should you happen to find one, please return it to shelf #155, section 2, row #506, partition theta, under IV.

* * *

The following is an excerpt from a lesson conducted by Zelretch on June 9th, 1987, recorded by Zelretch. It was found within CTR: Magecraft #2014 and returned to its proper location.

_Oh? Five this time? This is a surprise. I didn't expect anyone other than _[redacted]_ here today. Very well. I suppose since four other have decided to join us today, we will actually have a lesson instead my previously planned venture. I do suppose this is the beginning of a new year here at Clock Tower, however. I believe others have tried to warn you about coming here? Yes? Hmm? I see your nods. Well I'm here to tell you that they were absolutely right. Today I'll let you lot off easy as I wasn't in the mood to have you lose your sanity today, but if you do return tomorrow after today's lesson, I will not guarantee your safety. _

_Hmmm… Where to start when you're trying to give an introduction to the Second? Oh, wait, first off, all of you know what the second is, correct? Yes? Good, Didn't want to have any idiots accidentally wandering in here not knowing what they were getting in to. _

_Let's see, Let's see… I guess I could take the Atlas approach to this… Yes, that could work…_

_To start off, I will ask you all a philosophical question. This apple in my hand, if I were to let go of it, would it drop on the table?_

_No takers? None? Very well then, you, blue haired, smug faced one. Tell what will happen if I let go of this apple. _

(The following has been blacked out)

_Well, you didn't have to say all that, but landing on the table is one way it could go. How about the short green haired cross dresser next to you?_

(The following has been inked over.)

_Ah, but I could and you are. Now please answer the question._

(This part has been inked out)

_Go off the table? Yes, yes it could. Now, I could keep asking questions and going into specifics, but I won't as I have places to be and I'm sure you all do to. So, let's actually test this out._

(This part has been blacked out)

_Hahaha! Yes, I did indeed throw the apple at your face. It was quite funny. Now, I could have done a variety of things right there. I could have lifted it above my head and dropped it. I could have thrown it at the wall behind me. I could have tossed it into the kaleidoscope. I could have done so much. So, let's narrow the question down a bit._

_For the next test, I will put my hand out and do nothing else but let go. I will not do anything else except for letting go of the apple and I will let it go above this table. I will not throw it, perform magecraft on it, or anything like that. No, I will simply drop it and that will be all. As for the question now, I will ask will this apple hit the table?_

(This part is blacked out)

_Alright, so you say it'll hit the table? Let's test it out. … And your theory proved to be correct! Congratulations! You have proven yourself to be capable of using common sense! I did not think you could do that by the way, so congratulations on proving me wrong. Now, for the next question. Will the apple always hit the table?_

(This part is blacked out)

_Precisely. While I said I would not interfere with the results, any of you could have. It would have been as simple as using some basic magecraft or simply walking up to me and taking the apple. None of you did however. _

_Now onto the next question. In a world without any living beings, not even trees, let's say that an apple and a table exist. The apple will rise from the table and after staying there for exactly one second, it will fall. Now tell me, will the apple fall on the table?_

(This part is blacked out)

_And there is the first wrong answer of the day. No! There is always the possibility that an outer force will affect the drop. The wind, an earthquake, some extraterrestrial being suddenly popping up and taking the apple, all manner of things. So, since there is the chance that the apple will not land on the table, let's be even more specific. _

_There is a dimension with only an apple and a table, nothing else. Every five seconds, an apple will appear above the table at precisely the same height, and fall the exact same way every single time, striking the table directly in the center. Then, after five seconds have passed since the apple was created, it and the table are destroyed completely and utterly, and a new table and apple are created in its place. Now tell me, will the apple fall on the table?_

(This part has been inked over)

_No. For you see, I exist. And as long as I exist, the possibility of the apple not hitting that table exists. Now, let's go even deeper. Let's say a being similar to gaia exists. This being makes it so that the apple will always hit the table, and should anything exist in space it should occupy, it will undoubtedly pass right through as thought there was simply no resistance at all. Magecraft will not work. There is not a single thing anything in any dimension can do to prevent this apple from falling on this table. Now tell me, will the apple hit the table?_

(This part has been blacked out)

_Ah, the quiet one speaks. Yes. You are correct. Impossibility is a possibility, and once you realize that, it will undoubtedly happen. According to Atlas, everything can be quantified by ones and zeros. Yes and no. Do and do not. So, let's break down the steps, shall we? Every single atom has the same choices it can make, and they all follow the same rules. First question, do you exist? Atoms can choose not to exist and blink out of this dimension if you're not careful. Are you moving? That is a choice to make. Then it has many, many choices about how it is moving, is it moving clockwise? Counterclockwise? Not spinning at all? Upward, downward, sideways, all of these are taken into account. And then it must decide, will I move in the upward hemisphere, or the downward hemisphere? And then this is narrowed down by splitting the hemisphere it will go in in half and then continually splitting the zone it is within until only one possible point can remain in which it can move toward. And finally, is the choice I'm going to make impossible? If yes, go back to step one. If not, go right ahead! Every single one of these choices creates a dimension. One that goes one way, one that goes another. Two dimensions for every single choice an atom has to make. Imagine the permutations that result for two atoms, hmm?_

_The kaleidoscope is meant to explore these options. Impossible and possible. All of it. _

_And now I regret to inform you that everything I've just said is wrong. Yes, I know, your notes are now useless! Woe is me! However, the day is just beginning, and I plan on giving you an idea of what the surface of the Second entails. _

_I hope you are prepared._

_(The excerpt ends here as that was all that was contained within the pages)_

* * *

So, this is simply part one of infinity (more like 10). Like I said, bite sized chunks for easy consumption! Planning on doing a significant persons one involving the idea of a hero and how a hero can exist in the future, and an actual full-blown hero, not a counter guardian. Perhaps something on reality marbles, part 2 of YUKARI, and some other things here and there. If you want to contribute something I'm all ears.


	5. Chapter 5

Clock Tower Records: Magecraft #17

Magecraft Title: The kaleidoscope, The Second True Magic

Domain of Magecraft: Operation of Parallel Worlds.

Creator: Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg on the date of :(the following has been blacked out)

Current user(s): Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg (for more information, see CTR: Significant Persons #132)

The Second Magic, commonly known as the kaleidoscope, was obtained by Kischur Zelretch Shweinorg, also known simply as Zelretch, while Brunestud of the Crimson Moon still walked the earth (for more information, see CTR: significant Persons #13). The second is known for being obscenely powerful, with it having the capacity to defeat the Ultimate One of the moon (for more information, see CTR: Significant Events #665). The limits of the kaleidoscope are currently unknown, with Zelretch himself confirming that he had yet to explore everything the kaleidoscope could accomplish.

The domain of the Second is the Operation of Parallel Worlds. With the Second, one can freely manipulate dimensions, accessing history, memory, physical forms, energy, and thought from them. Even this description is inadequate in describing what the second can accomplish, however, as one would have to use it in its entirety to truly understand what it can do.

Due to the size of Magecraft #17's file, it was deemed necessary by the Clock Tower Records Room administrator [Zelretch] to split the file and place them in separate locations. However, due to an incident, there files were lost and became scattered throughout various other files in the Records Room. Should you happen to find one, please return it to shelf #155, section 2, row #506, partition theta, under IV.

* * *

The following is an excerpt from a lesson conducted by Zelretch on June 9th, 1987, recorded by Zelretch. It was found within CTR: Magecraft #101 and returned to its proper location.

(This part has been blacked out)

_How can it be wrong? Because I said so. Pay closer attention. _

(This part has been inked over)

_And who is the expert on the kaleidoscope here? Yes, that's what I thought. You think you know everything because you think you're smart? You don't. 'geniuses' and 'prodigies' flock to me, and do you know what happens to them? They die or go insane. Or possibly both. _

_So, continuing on! While it's wrong, let's continue with the Atlas theorem of binary systems. Using… this!_

(This part has been inked over)

_Yes, it's technology. Very handy one too. Borrowed it from a geometry professor in an alternate dimension where the earth started 1000 years earlier. Just take the pointy stick, place the tip on the 3d holographic grid and press a button, and you can make a point! Drag it around and you can make a line, and so forth and so forth with all the shapes you can possibly make on an XYZ plane. _

(This part has been inked over)

_No. Shut up. _

_To start off with, let's start by making a point at zero, zero. We'll say that was the start of this universe. Now we make a line, representing our universe until now. We'll keep it on the 2d plane for now, so no Z axis yet. Let's place our second point at…14.14, 14.14. Now we draw a line and… There! Dimension! _

(This part has been inked over)

_Yes, yes it is. Now we'll make another two points at 10, 10 and 10, 17.13… there! Alternate dimension! Simple enough, right?_

(This part has been inked over)

_Of course it's wrong. Atlas thought of it. However, for the sake of this lecture, I'll be using it, mainly because for our partition of the multiverse, it is a sound theory. _

_So, let us continue. Let's make another line here between 0,0 and 0,20, and another between 0,0 and 20,0, and another… And a couple of more… A few more here… Now, what shape does this look like?_

(This part is inked over)

_A circle! Good job! You know basic geometry! _

_As you can see, there are a lot of gaps between the spokes and offshoots on this diagram. It actually looks more like this… There we go, filled all that in. Now that is one solid circle. _

_This circle represents every choice from the beginning of our universe to this moment right now across all possible choices on a 2d plane. For every offshoot in this, such as this line I'm drawing from 10,17.32 to 14.14,14.14, there is a choice being made, a choice being had…_

(This part has been inked out)

_Yes, that is a chord. What of it?_

(This part has been inked out)

_Ah, that's right. You wouldn't understand. A chord across this circle is connecting two points that are at the ends of their timelines. Doesn't make sense, does it? Alright, next part. Let us turn this graph 90 degrees. Now what do you see?_

(This line has been blacked out)

_A line! Yes! Our circle has now become a line. Now watch this… If I make a line from here to here… Now we have a diagonal crossing the top portion of our line. Two different dimensions crossing at one point. What does this tell us? Anyone?_

(This part has been inked over)

_Yes! You see, dimensions have a tendency to want to conserve space, so when there is any overlap at all, at single instances in time-space, dimensions will overlap and become the same instance. In other words, right now, you are not simply you, but an inexplicable number of you all occupying the same time-space. _

_As an example, let's look at it this way. Let me just erase this line I made… there! Now let's shift to a 45 degree turn so that you can still see the circle… And now let's make another circle two units back, and shifted one unit to the left… and one unit down... there! Now let's shift back to flat planar view. Now it looks like a venn diagram, doesn't it? But if I happen to shift it like this… They overlap complete! It's gone! Eclipsed by the circle in front! The multiverse realizes this, and instead of making two multiverses where one is shifted compared to the other, it instead forces them together to conserve space because at this viewpoint, they are basically the same universe. Although, it doesn't really do that. I'll talk about it later._

_Continuing on, let's shift back to that 90 degree angle and replace the line. Now it's going through two circles or lines as they are in this viewpoint. This universe is completely different from these two, yet at two instances, it will line up with these two. Shift the viewpoint, and it will completely be inside the circle. _

_So, question, which viewpoint performs the task the best, hmm? _

(This part has been blacked out)

_Trick question. It's none. Oh, boohoo, you got it wrong. Suck it up. _

_It none of these viewpoints because we are viewing this diagram as a static object. The multiverse is not static in any way, shape, or form. Now, let me just erase this and make a quick adjustment… There. _

_Now what do I have?_

(The part has been covered in ink)

_Yes. It is a sphere. As a colleague once described, time-space is not a straight progression from point A to point B; It's more of a big ball of wibbly wobbly, timey wimey… stuff. Let me just highlight three particular paths… There. _

_Now we have this crookedy path, this straight one, and this circly one. Now observe._

(This part has been inked over)

_Yes, it did go all donut shaped. That's because it is now in a fourth dimensional state. It's in motion now. Observe the lines. See how they twist and turn? Crisscrossed and tangled and whatnot? _

_If you were to trace all the possible paths in every possible variation of color and then sliced out a small sliver and looked in, you would understand why I call my magic the kaleidoscope. Well, that, and the pure symmetrical chaotic nature of higher dimensional space, but for the sake of the metaphor, I'll stick with the first one. _

_However, this is not how the multiverse works. It's not donut shaped. Not even close. That's a fourth dimensional hypersphere in 3 dimensional, non-folded, Euclidian space. Multiverse theorem works at a much, much higher level than that. And, you have to understand, this is how we view the multiverse from our viewpoint, from our rules._

_Does the multiverse work on our rules? Our set of only yes and no? Our binary sets of left and right? One and zero? Something and nothing? No, it doesn't .Ours can work on it because that is how we view it. All possible scenarios stemming from the beginning of our universe could possibly work on binary systems, but other beginnings, other dimensions spinning around in their own planes crossing through ours because they don't follow our rules, won't have that basic logic. _

_That is why atlas is wrong. Ones and zeroes? Don't make me laugh. It's not that simple. _

_And now for a lunch break! Yes, it has only been thirty or so minutes, but I'm hungry. Don't come back after this break, unless you really feel like you want to know more. _

(The excerpt ends here as that was all that was contained within the pages)

* * *

This one was… hard, to type. Basically I finished up with the chapter of StRS and just wanted to write more CTR. Want to do the fate/zero alt servant one next, but that one is being a bitch to come up with alternate scenarios for.

Go look up 8th dimensional space. Go on. Or any of the higher number dimensional spaces. Kaleidoscope is a pretty close approximation to the patterns made.


End file.
